


The Shade of Winter's Discontent

by Andarius



Category: werewolves - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2019-11-15 23:28:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18083024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andarius/pseuds/Andarius
Summary: Another Aneria story suggested to her by Polgara 6End of season 1.Mates exist, and they go insane if they are separated.Stiles is a spark.This is how Stiles might cope with Scott's betrayal and Peter's death.





	1. The End of the Beginning

**February 28th, 2011**

Stiles sadly throws the Molotov at Alpha Peter.

  
Peter catches it in his hand and Stiles manages not to jump up and down in triumph that Peter didn't let it explode. He sympathizes with the man and is damn attracted to him.  
  
If the Argents weren't actively hunting any wolf connected to Peter, he'd have accepted the bite from Peter. He can't have his dad die or let his dad watch him die because of his life choices.  
  
Allison shoots the jar in Peter's hand, and it erupts in a cloud of flames that engulfs him.  
  
Stiles jaw drops in shock and dismay. He wants Peter to stop killing. He doesn't want to hurt or kill him.  
  
Jackson throws the other jar at Peter and hits him, engulfing him in another fireball.  
  
God! It grieves Stiles that Peter had to burn again. That has to be the most horrid punishment for a man that spent years in a coma from being severely burned in the fire that killed his family.  
  
He feels his heart tear into little pieces when Derek rips out Peter's throat to be the new Alpha. He wonders if Derek planned this the whole time.

  
  
Scott goes to Allison, _**with**_ Chris Argent watching, and they drive away. It looks like Chris is deciding if he's going to intercede in their relationship or not. He _**has**_ to ask his wife. _**She**_ makes _**all**_ the decisions.  
  
Jackson gets in his Porsche and drives away. Stiles guarantees Jackson will be back to the Hale house by sun-up to force Derek into turning him.  
  
Stiles goes home and blankly stares at the walls as he thinks about Peter's blue eyes. They were the color of a cold winter's day when they weren't a beautiful ruby red.  
  
Oh my god! He's _**in**_ love with Peter. But he _**doesn't**_ know Peter. _**Why**_ does his heart feel this way?  
  
He gets out the old Latin books on werewolves and begins his research. Lydia's not the only one that knows Ancient Latin.  
  
It takes him three hours, but he finds it. Mates! Werewolves have mates that keep them sane and grounded. When they turn their mates, they don't bite them on the side. They do it on their wrist. When they claim them as their mate, it's on their shoulder during the consummation of their relationship. The dominant bites the submissive when they both orgasm together.  
  
This book says that once death severs the connection, the living mate will slowly go insane, driven by nightmares of grief and loss until they go crazy and kill themselves in despair. The same thing happens if they are separated from them which is a game that hunters play with werewolves so that they are feral enough to hunt.  
  
Stiles already feels the grief in his heart building. If he hadn't met Peter, he wouldn't have a connection. Damn it!

Wait! What if he _**didn't**_ remember meeting Peter. Druids can cast amnesia spells. It would be as if he _**never**_ met Peter.  
  
He doesn't trust Deaton. He doesn't trust Morrell much either.

Deaton told Stiles that he's a Spark and all he has to do is believe, and he can do the magick.

  
  
He grabs a California state map of the counties and spreads it out on the floor. He takes a red push pin and visualizes his need for a druid he can trust to cast the amnesia spell for him.  
  
He slows his breathing and heartbeat and calms himself as much as he can until he feels his skin crawling with energy.  
  
Stiles tosses the pin in the air and wills it to land on the location of the druid he needs, believing that this will work.  
  
It finds a spot in a small town (Brownling) that is three cities away.  
  
The book says that he needs something personal, like an amulet or a locket to lock the memory that he wants to forget. All spells have to have a loophole. It has to be something that he can retrieve if he needs it.  
  
It's too late tonight, and he needs sleep.  
  
He lays down and naps for about four or five hours. He dreams of Peter's smirk and his blue eyes before flashing onto Derek standing over Peter's burned body with blood covered claws and ruby red eyes.  
  
  
**Meanwhile**  
In the land of the dead, Peter's angry that he died. He got revenge for his family's massacre, but his flesh and blood killed him to become an Alpha.  
  
That worthless pup, Scott, is still having sex with a hunter and denying his wolf instincts in every way possible.

Peter believes he should have forced his wolf to let him bite Stiles. If he had bit his mate in the preserve that night, this might not have happened.  
  
Stiles even sympathizes with him and his cause. He was even willing to turn away from his killings, that is until he went after the innocent niece, Allison, of the Bitch Kate.  
  
He does relish the feeling of ripping through Kate's throat with his bare fingers. He didn't even use claws.

  
There has to be a way to go back and live once more. He still has the Alpha power in his soul. He sees that his eyes are still red.  
  
It would take too long to get the banshee crazy enough to wake up her potential sufficiently to cast the wormwood ritual on March's full moon. What to do? What to do?   
  
Most witches won't believe or assist a werewolf ghost in coming back from the dead.  
  
Who or what on this side can bring him back from the dead that hasn't used that ability on themselves? Satan, Demons, Wraiths, or maybe ... he snaps his fingers... Death.  
  
He sets out to find death. He checks on his mate first and sees him staring blankly at the walls and wringing his hands with a tear-streaked face.  
  
Peter guesses that Stiles is beginning to feel the grief from the loss of his mate even though he doesn't know he has one. This sight spurs Peter on with a new sense of urgency. He strokes his fingers softly over Stiles' tear-stained cheek and leaves quickly.  
  
He doesn't notice that Stiles felt something touch him and touches his cheek in confusion before opening a hidden panel in his closet where he squirreled away all his old books and begins frantically reading.


	2. Deals of the Past

**MARCH 1st, 2011**  
  
Stiles cleans himself up, packs a light bag lunch and writes a note to his dad. He has to leave to get away from backstabbers, and liars that got him kidnapped, twice, and tortured. His ribs are still sore from being slammed into that wall by Chris. He feels that he needs to go if he wants to live to see his 17th birthday.  
  
He adds "Don't follow me. When I feel safe and whole again, I will call you. That could be a long time in the future, though. You are safer without me here drawing bad things to you and this town. Take care of yourself."  
  
He leaves his keys on the table with the letter and the jeep parked in the drive.   
  
He hunts through his room and digs out all the little baggies of money he got for essays and papers to the many high schoolers and college kids online.  
  
He's never really counted it and is surprised to find that he has $1,248.  
  
He packs a backpack with a couple of pairs of boxers, socks, his spare jeans, and a few t-shirts.  
  
Stiles grabs a couple of bottles of water and then hikes cross-country to the town with the druid. He knows that he has to live on that money and day labor for a while.

  
  
It takes a couple of days to get there. Once there, the druid is impressed to meet a spark. She instantly likes him and feels for his plight.  
  
She's impressed again to discover he has no formal magic training and found her by believing that he could do it.  
  
She writes down an address for an ancient male druid that lives in North Dakoda. She knows he would love to have the company while training Stiles on how to use his magic. Grand Forks is a small town, but it's near an air base so anyone can find it easily.  
  
Stiles explains, "I met my werewolf mate only I didn't know he's my mate. He didn't tell me. He's... he's dead. I feel the intense grief building in my heart even though we weren't in a relationship. Can you cast amnesia and make me forget that I met him? I brought this locket to put my memories of him in."  
  
She studies it and realizes that the locket IS dear to him. It says Claudia on the back and has a picture of his mother in it. She nods. "I can do this. If you ever need to regain these memories for whatever reason, you need to open this locket. You also need to protect the locket, so no one else opens it."  
  
He nods. "So I need a trigger so that I'm the only that can open it and I don't open it by mistake. Something that can happen but doubtful that it will unless it's an emergency."  
  
He thinks for a minute. "How about, I can't open it until someone that wants me kisses me, even if it's on the cheek? Needing me for some selfish reason doesn't count. They have to want me because of me and not what I can do for them."  
  
She nods. "Very well. That meets the criteria."  
  
She gets the colored candles and herbs, dims the lights and tells him to sit in the middle of the circle. "Remember the meeting with your wolf mate that you want to forget. You have to go over every detail of that meeting that you want to forget."  
  
He nods as he sits down. "So only go over everything I want to forget about?"  
  
She nods. "If there is a part of that meeting that you need to remember so that there's not a hole your timeline, then you don't want to go over those facts."  
  
He nods. He needs to remember that Peter bit Lydia but not that Peter kidnapped him and offered him the bite.  
  
He remembers the hospital, turning around and seeing a burned Peter leaning against the wall. "You must be Stiles."

  
  
He concentrates on remembering crouching over Lydia to protect her from Peter after he bit her.

He goes over the drive to the parking garage and the small talk they had. He remembers when he asked about Derek and how to find him.  
  
He relives the body in the trunk and Peter in his personal space as he's flirting with him as he's establishing his dominance and proving how strong and capable he is. Why didn't he realize that was a werewolf posturing to seduce him?  
  
He goes over showing Peter where Derek was on the computer and that Peter was going to walk away and leave him there, but Stiles was confused and asked why he didn't kill him. "I like you, Stiles."  
  
Stiles goes over Peter reaching down, grabbing his wrist and seductively eyeing it as he makes his pitch offering him the bite and then slowly leaning in to bite his wrist, giving him the chance to say no or pull away.

  
  
He goes over Peter leaning into him, smelling him as he says he heard Stiles' heart skip over 'be like you.' He knew Stiles was lying. He crushes Stiles' keys and drives away, leaving Stiles doubting if he did the right thing.  
  
He knew Gerard was hunting and killing any werewolf and their family involved with Peter or the Hales. He can't have his dad tortured or killed, and it would destroy his dad to find Stiles body after he was tortured and killed.  
  
He had to say no, no matter how much he was dying to say yes.  
  
He remembers that he now knows that a bite on the wrist means mating and how confused and curious that he was Peter went for Stiles' wrist when he bit Lydia and Scott on the side.  
  
That's all he needs to forget about Peter, so he opens his eyes and sees the Druidess in front of him with a small crystal pulling a stream of light from his forehead. When he opens his eyes, the flow stops as it sucks the light into itself.  
  
She takes it and crushes it over the locket. It turns to a fine powder, and the locket sucks in the dust, and locks shut. She says a few ancient Latin words. He recognizes the phrase "unable to open until he who must remember is kissed by one who wants him for who he is and not what they can provide."  
  
She finishes and moves to hand it to him.  
  
He holds up his hand and shakes his head. "You hold on to that. It's safer with you, and I don't think I will ever need it."  
  
  
  
  
**Meanwhile**

  
Peter finds Death at the scene of an apartment building fire.  
  
Death's pissed a necromancer has brought back two souls he wants.  He agrees to give Peter his life back if he collects the souls of all three.  
  
Peter has to do it, but he's not sure if they deserve it.  
  
Death brings him to a seedy Blackmagic hangout in lower Los Angeles. He points out the druid and the two souls, correction, people, that she brought back.  
  
Peter evilly smiles when he sees it's Gerard and Kate Argent. He quickly agrees to arrange their deaths as an agent of Death and collect their souls.

  
  
Death gives him a bracelet with three stones on it that he will use to contain the souls of each of his chosen victims.

Death says "my agents are undetectable to necromancers. Only nature witches can see us because death is a part of life."  
  
Peter decides that the necromancer needs to go first and then Gerard and then Kate.

  
He silently follows the witch. He learns that Gerard and Kate want to take out Stiles, Scott, and Derek. They have people watching the three of them. They think Stiles is the easiest target since he's human.  
  
He laughs when Gerard goes into a rage because they lost Stiles, and Chris caught the ones following Scott and beat the shit out of them. Derek has placed himself so they can't get close to him.

 

  
  
Peter checks on Stiles and sees that he's left the Stilinski house which upsets his wolf.

He concentrates on his mate and feels a fuzzy tingle which upsets his wolf. He _**does**_ find Stiles though as the druid finishes the spell on the locket.

  
  
Peter recognizes the Latin she speaks. He arches his brow when she tries to give the amulet to Stiles. "The spell worked, and I've forgotten whatever memory is in that. I won't need those memories again. If by some strange happenstance I do, it will be safer here with you. Keep it safe. I'm going to North Dakoda and learn magic from your ancient druid, and then I'll travel until I feel stable."  
  
Stiles leaves, and the Nature Witch turns to Peter's ghost. "You must love him a great deal to make a deal with Death. I'll keep this safe until you can claim it. Stiles forgot that he met you because he already felt the great grief that causes the surviving mate to kill themselves. He did this to survive. You'll need this when you come back to claim him. You may make it easier for him to accept you if you are in his dreams. I erased when he met you, but he may still remember a characteristic of you. Don't let him forget that."  
  
Peter nods and goes back to following the necromancer during the day.  
  
That night he finds his sleeping mate and enters his dream. At first, he stays in the background to see Stiles' dreams.  
  
Stiles has a brief nightmare of Chris threatening him because of Scott. After a few minutes, he realizes it's a dream and changes it. He's sitting on his jeep in the vast field with the sky as blue as Peter's eyes.  
  
Peter mutters, "my eyes. He remembers my eyes." He's invisible to Stiles' perception so moves closer.

  
  
Stiles is looking around like he's lost. "I'm missing something. I've forgotten something important, but I don't know what I'm missing. Why don't I remember? I need something ... or someone. Dad? Not Scott, maybe Melissa. No. Who am I missing?"  
  
Peter is afraid to meet Stiles, even in his dream, because it could trigger the downward spiral to suicide. It's good to know that Stiles knows he's forgotten someone and that Stiles remembers his winter blue eyes.  
  
His wolf wants Stiles safe and is antsy that they're apart but seeing him helps calm him. He needs to collect those three souls.  
  
He starts to leave Stiles dream and turns back. Death likes to play games. Death will more than likely do something so that he can't go straight to his mate or the druid. He needs something to tell him where to go.  
  
He goes back to the druidess and tells her what he believes. She agrees. "Peter. One thing you have to know. You're dead, so you aren't affected by the loss of your mate. When you come back, and your mate isn't there for you, you'll begin losing your sanity. You have to find him before you become a feral wolf and lose your humanity."  
  
Peter drops his jaw in surprise. "How will I know to come here for you or the locket to find him? I've never heard of Brownling before."  
  
She says "Give me your cell number. Let me know when you are about to collect your last soul, and I'll send you a picture of Stiles' locket, my face, the sign to Brownling and my address. Everything else will be up to you."  
  
Peter nods. "Good thing I didn't have my phone on me when I burned again, and the bill was on an automatic payment plan. I was never declared dead, so the payments are still going through."


	3. The Sheriff Makes a Discovery

**MARCH 15th, 2011**  
Sheriff Stilinksi is buttoning his shirt as he's talking with his doctor.  
  
John freezes when he says "Stiles was right. Your blood pressure is good, but your meds need to be changed or adjusted. The Lasix is a diuretic, and you're not drinking enough to maintain your fluids, so you are dehydrated."  
  
He looks at his notes. "You took a lot of anti-inflammatories like Motrin for the headache, which dries you out more, and the stool softeners you've been using to compensate for ensuing constipation. If Stiles hadn't caught this, you could have wound up in the hospital from either that or overdosing on the Tylenol. We tell you not to take more than 4,000 mg of acetaminophen in a day because it will shut your liver down and yours is starting to show symptoms. That boy of yours should go to pharmacy school. He probably knows more than the pharmacist do."  
  
The doctor looks up at John as he finishes writing. "I've adjusted your meds. Here's your new script. The next time you start having headaches and constipation at the same time, you come straight to me and don't wait for Stiles to message me to call you into my office again."  
  
John thinks 'no one has seen or heard from Stiles since the end of February. How could he have not thought about Stiles using his computer to keep on top of his medical issues? He assumed Stiles was overhearing conversations. What if he has access to his records.  
  
John looks up at the doctor. "I hate to sound dumb or out of the loop, here. But I need to know. Stiles called you and asked you to check?"  
  
The doctor looks flustered that he may have done something wrong. "You _**did**_ sign a consent to discuss your treatment, records, and information with Stiles and he always helps me chose your course of treatment that won't interfere with your life and job. Have things changed? You would need to sign a new form telling me not to inform him."  
  
John waves his hands to calm him down. "No, no. It's fine. I wasn't aware that he was _**that**_ involved with my medical care. I'm not upset. I'm surprised. May I ask when you talked to him last?"  
  
Dr. Pathan thinks. "I received his email with a copy of your routine blood work from the station the day before yesterday. He asked me to email him my notes after your appointment."  
  
John smiles. "Can you please add something to the email? Here I'll write it out. Stiles and I aren't talking right now, and I'm hoping this might change that."  
  
Dr. Pathan nods with relief that he's not in trouble. He doesn't like being an errand boy, but this is better than losing his license, and that boy is the only one around here that he can talk with about medicine.  
  
John writes a note in Polish.  
  
_'Stiles. I learned of the wolf issues you were trying to protect me from, by one of the hunters.  
_

_His faith in what he did is shaky, and he says you were hurt because you protected me, your friend, the wolves, and informed this hunter that his boss and sister lied to him and were using the hunter as a weapon against everyone.  
_

_Please call me or email me. I miss my son. I understand that you removed yourself from the playing field to protect the pieces.  
_

_I love you and am proud of you, son. If you feel comfortable passing messages through the doctor, I'll settle for that since it is **SOME** form of communication and that's better than nothing. Love dad.'_

 

**At the station**

Tara is at the front desk filling out some forms when John walks in after his Doctor's visit.

She looks up as she finishes that paper and starts on the next one. "How did it go? It's not like a doctor to ask you to come in from routine lab work run here."

He looks around to see if anyone is paying attention as he walks to the front counter to talk with her. "My medication was too strong, and my headaches were a symptom. My attempts to cure it with over the counter pain killers made it worse. I have to stay away from all Tylenol meds until my liver gets better. He changed my medications."

He writes on the form Tara's filling out _'I may have found a way to contact Stiles. Not sure yet. Still in progress. Due to hunters posing as cops in my precinct, it may be better if we don't say anything.'_

She looks up at him, nods, and puts this form in the shredder and starts a new one from scratch.

 

John sits at his desk and ponders. How did Stiles know I'm taking a lot of Motrin, Tylenol, and stool softeners? He left town. I got them from different places, so it's not an informant. He can't use the cameras because he's not here. How then?  
  
"Sheriff!"  
  
John looks up.  
  
Tara says "we need your credit card to pay for the take out."  
  
He hands her his card and stops as he looks at it. His credit card? He gives it to Tara and then turns on his computer.  
  
He goes online and checks the alerts on his credit card. He remembers that Stiles had to replace everything a few years ago because he lost his wallet on the job. Stiles dealt with the bills. Everything is still getting paid because Stiles set up direct payments. Maybe...  
  
Stiles set an alert so that an electronic receipt of all his purchases goes to CheckingThingsForDad@outlook.com.  
  
He sends a quick email. _'Stiles! Please email me! I need to know you're safe. I can verify this is me. I'm not the boogey man.'_

 

  
He searches his office for the umpteenth time for cameras.

He gets a reply from Stiles an hour later. He closes the blinds to his office for privacy while he reads it.

_'Dad. That's Boogeyman. As in one word, not two. Two messages from you in an hour. I must be sloppy. I'm learning magick, so I'm safe and ok here.  
_

_I was kidnapped there, twice, because of Scott. I don't want anyone hurting you to get to me. Don't trust Scott or Allison. Scott was lying to everyone, and Allison feels one crack away from insane like the other females of her family.  
_

_Don't trust Deaton either. I caught him in several lies. He knows I have magick but never helped me learn. He lied about working for the Hales. He worked for the Argent hunters and betrayed the Hales. He knew who Kate was and didn't warn them she was having sex with Derek.  
_

_I love you, too. Get a cheap disposable phone and a CD that plays white noise. You can play that to block eavesdropping on our calls. Give me the number, and I'll call you._

_P.S.  
Listen to your doctor. I don't want you to die because of medical issues that you don't know you have.'_

John fist pumps the air in success.

 

 

**MARCH 24th, 2011**

  
Stiles and John are talking on the phone every few days and keeping up to date on everything going on in their lives.

Gerard and Kate left Los Angeles a few weeks ago to build their base in Wyoming.  
  
Peter is _**still**_ following the necromancer.

She's a school teacher by day.

He's been waiting for a way to kill her to pop up, conveniently.  
  


 


	4. Ding Dong the Witch is Dead

**MARCH 24th, 2011**

  
Peter is _**still**_ following the necromancer.

She's a school teacher by day.

He's been waiting for a way to kill her to pop up, conveniently.

  
  
**Around 11 pm**

The power goes out, and it starts to get cold in her large house.  
  
Tonight is the coldest night so far this year, at 45 degrees.  
  
The witch doesn't like the cold. She builds a raging fire in the fireplace and doesn't put away the supplies she used.

  
   
She bundles up and calls the electric company to complain about the lack of power and heat. Only, her phone is one of those on a system that _**requires**_ electricity to keep charged, and the battery is _**quite**_ dead. He evilly smiles that she can't recharge it or call for help.

  
  
Peter smiles demonically to himself as he ensures that her house doesn't get the power back when the electric company fixes the power grid that failed.  
  
This blackout is _**too**_ good of an opportunity to pass up as a chance to take out the necromancer and then she won't be there to bring back the others when he kills them.

  
**Quarter to midnight**

The witch is so cold that she's shivering. She gets up in frustration and drags her bed closer to the fireplace. She has school tomorrow and _**needs**_ her beauty sleep.  
  
She then lights several kerosene lamps throughout her mansion because necromancers know very well what can be lurking in the dark and she's afraid of the dark.  
  
Peter smiles. It will be so easy to overturn a lamp and start a fire.  
  
He waits until she's fast asleep and then turns over her can of kerosene near the bed.

It was so nice of her to have wooden floors.

  
  
He moves the quilt so that it's dragging the ground to give the flames a clear pathway to _**his**_ target.  
  
Peter then moves the firewood so that it's no longer stacked neatly, but scattered to the side of the fireplace and creating a pathway for the fire leading towards her bed.  
  
He then reaches into the fireplace, finds a small piece of the burning log, breaks it off, and places it close enough to the firewood to catch it alight, and still look like an accident.  
  
When the firewood is merrily burning, he rolls another burning log out of the fireplace, to about a foot from her bed, so that the spilled kerosene catches fire.  
  
Peter then encourages the raging fire to spread to the sleeping witch in her bed.  


She wakes in confusion as to why she's suddenly so warm, and it's so bright and yet so dark. She notices the sound before she sees smoke. It takes a minute for it to register. What could make that sound?  
  
The fire quickly climbs the quilt up to the foot of her bed, and she suddenly realizes that her bed is on fire and she is in imminent danger of death. She's too young and beautiful to die!  


When she puts her hand in front of her to cast a spell to stop the flames, Peter takes on a corporeal and impenetrable form, grabs her wrists, and slams her on her back.  
  
He's now sitting on her stomach and pinning her hands over her head with one hand as the other clamps over her mouth. He keeps her there, attempting to scream, as the fire covers both of them.  
  
Peter is an agent of death and immune to the flames. He watches in fascination as the flames devour the witch below him just as they once ravaged over his body so many years before.  
  
He waits until the crystal in his bracelet takes her soul as she dies before climbing off her and becoming incorporeal once more.  
  
He looks around at the inferno. "One down. Two more to go."  
  
  
  
**MEANWHILE**  
Stiles is playing one last training game with the ancient.

  
  
He feels the man coming through the trees to his right, so he blends his form in with the shadows of the tree he's hiding behind and covers the life essence of his body with the rabbit hiding in its burrow below the roots of the tree.  
  
The ancient uses nature to try and find the boy. He knows the boy came this way, but he lost his trail about 50 yards back. He can't feel the boys presence, but he knows from experience that Stiles' can cloak himself in shadows.  
  
He tries to find the life essence of the boy, and all he can detect is a few birds in the tree branches and a rabbit under a nearby tree's roots.  
  
He looks around and then goes in the direction the boy was heading in before he lost his trail.  
  
Stiles has taken to always wearing Black Hawthorne ash on his left wrist in a tribalized wolfs head made from a triskele. It's ash forms that shape from Stiles' will and not a tattoo. He can wield it as a shield to stop any threat.  
  
  
  
The Ancient passes within inches of where Stiles crouches in the shadows.  
  
Once the man is two steps past, Stiles steps out of the darkness and uses the ash from his arm to form a tentacle that grabs the man and throws him at a tree.  
  
The man uses his telekinesis to prevent his body from impacting with the tree.  
  
Stiles is instantly on him and has him pinned to the ground. He may not know he uses telekinesis with the ash, but he does know he's using it to make himself strong enough to pin the larger man down.  
  
He's not aware that his pupils are glowing witch-white from using his magic and powers.  
  
  
  
Stiles gets up and helps the man up, and they go inside, discussing the Coven that needs a witch protector to help them stop a feral creature in the forest attacking and killing the people of their little town.

"Good job, Stiles. Your ability to hide your presence and your hand to hand fighting skills make you a force to be reckoned with."

 

  
  
**AROUND MIDNIGHT**

  
Stiles packs his small backpack as he thanks the old Druid. "Thanks for teaching me everything. I appreciate it, and I will continue to study, practice, and learn everything I can."

He looks up at the ancient. "I'm going to take this job to help that coven in Minnesota. I still haven't have figured out who I'm missing, and I don't think I should. I don't feel as though I belong _**anywhere**_. Until I find a place that I do, I will travel around protecting people from ferals and hunters."  
  
The Druid nods. "Take care of yourself lad. You have a real talent for magick. You're the first person I've seen that specializes in shadow magic and illusions but is still able to use nature magic as well."  
  
Stiles scratches his head. "To me, everything in nature has a shadow except for fire, and life hides things as an oasis and heat do. To me, it makes sense that I can cloak myself in shadows and illusion. It helps that I don't want to be found by people in my past that I no longer trust."  
  
The Druid pats Stiles' shoulder. "My door is always open for you, kid. Come back and visit me anytime. I enjoy your company."  
  
Stiles turns and hugs him. "Thanks for everything. You're like the Uncle I never had. I'll be back after I finish this job."  
  
Peter materializes in the shadows but still invisible to them. He watches the entire exchange and worries about his mate's safety on a magical protection job. Who does he think he is? Stingray?  
  
  
  
Stiles walks out the door, and before Peter can follow through the door, Death steps out of the shadows. "Peter! He is your mate for a reason. Don't doubt the boy's ability merely because he's young. I have watched him practice magic. He is unparalleled in Illusions and Shadow Magick."  
  
Death looks after Stiles' path. "I look forward to making a deal with the boy for your sake. He will do just as much to protect you as you have for him, and I'm sure he _**will**_ remember you in time."  
  
  
  
Death points out the window to a tree that looks like a pretzel. "The boy did that after that old Druid brought it to life to attack him. The boy is just as capable with nature magick as any Druid or Witch."  
  
Death looks at Peter. "Good work with killing the Witch. Might I ask why you chose her first? I figured with your previous dealings with the Argents that you would have gone after Kate first and let Gerard watch as you kill his precious daughter."  
  
Peter laughs. "Nothing is precious to that bastard. I killed her first so that she can't bring them back after I kill them. Gerard controls Kate and is the real brains. I want Kate to see me kill him so she can feel some of the pain of loss that I felt when I watched my family burn with me. She deserves the mental torture and anguish that she made my nephew live through."  
  
Death laughs. "Ahh! Gerard is your next target then! I can't wait to see how you take his life and collect his soul for me. It does sound as though you intend for Kate to watch the spectacle."  
  
The wind blows the door open with a bang. Peter looks at the door, and when he looks back, Death is gone.  
  
Peter growls at the thought of Death using him to force Stiles into a deal, and then Peter is gone.  
  
  
**MEANWHILE IN L.A.**  
Gerard and Kate are packing for a hunting trip to Minnesota. Kate says "whatever is killing people isn't a wolf, but it is feral."  
  
Gerard says "wolves don't partially eat their victims. It's eating their pray and starts with the limbs and not the torso. That means it's feral and it's not for power, it's for food and for whatever reason this creature prefers humans. I'm thinking Windigo."


	5. Shade is Born

**MARCH 26th, 2011**  
**IN L.A.**  
  
Gerard and Kate pack for Minnesota. Their contacts told them that a supernatural creature is killing and eating people.  
  
Kate says, "it isn't a wolf, but it is feral. Do we have any idea what we're hunting?"  
  
Gerard says, "wolves don't eat their victims. It starts eating the limbs and not the torso. It's a feral. It's not for power. It's for food. This creature prefers humans. I think it's a Windigo."

 

  
  
**ALEXANDRIA, MINNESOTA**

  
Stiles arrives at the coven's gathering place.  
  
He doesn't want his exploits to affect his dad. He thinks that this is a perfect time to become someone new with no past — no ties to anything or anyone.   
  
His magick works with shadows and illusions. What will he call himself?  
  
He introduces himself as Shade. His name is now Shade Gaia. He'll ask his dad for an ID with that name on it.

 

  
  
The Witches explain that something is killing campers in the woods. It killed a kid on the outskirts of town as he dumped the garbage in a dumpster.  
  
They haven't seen what it is or been able to track it. It's feral and therefore not reasoning so they can't anticipate when or where it will attack next.  
  
It eats some victims where it kills them while some are taken somewhere, devoured, and then dumped in the woods.  
  
They think the creature must have been interrupted, or there were too many people around to feel comfortable eating its meal.  
  
Stiles nods as he thinks of how to trace it. He begins to word a spell that will lead him on the right path.

 

  
  
It's midday, and it attacks around sunset or in the first few hours of darkness.  
  
Stiles is tired from the hike and Greyhound bus.  
  
The Witches lend him a warm bed.  
  
At dusk, Stiles/Shade goes hunting for the creature.

 

Shade says the spell he's made in English so he can translate it into Latin, only it works in the English. He's so thrilled.

 

_nature reveal that which is hidden_

_sight unseen of the true path_

_shadows penetrated as i have bidden_

_light the clues for my path_

_show me what will lead me to the truth_

 

The path that the creature is revealed to his eyes and his alone. It's a little dim but he can make it out.

 

 

Shade has been tracking the creature for an hour when a group of hunters attacks him.

  
  
Peter arrives to check on his mate and is standing, invisibly, in the shadows as Stiles fights off the hunters. He knocks out three of them but the last one fights dirty and Stiles doesn't know how to deal with that.

  
  
Death holds Peter back. "Calm down, wolf! Stiles/Shade isn't going to die, or we would know. Wait. See what happens. He's a strong, powerful, and capable man. He is a man now, not the boy you're waiting to mature."  
  
Peter wants to protect his mate, but he understands that Death is correct.  
  
He doesn't like it, but he watches from whatever plane death uses to travel.  
  
Stiles does rather well as they fight hand to hand.  
  
The bastard pulls underhanded tactics to get the advantage.

  
  
Stiles lands on the ground, hard, with a sore groin and a knife at his heart.  
  
He instantly is pushing on the hand with the knife to protect himself.  
  
  
  
Stiles asks, "what the hell?! Why attack me? A wild animal is running around, somewhere. You could have attracted its attention or sent it running with all the commotion."  
  
The man says, "I'm aware of that, kid. That's why we're here. Gerard sent me to track it to its lair. He'll be happy to know that I captured the little boy he lost in Beacon Hills."  
  
Stiles snarls. "Gerard? I heard he died of a heart attack when Kate died."  
  
The man says, "They're both back from the dead. Their witch is powerful. Boys! Tie up this kid for the boss."

 

Stiles scoffs. "That's what you think, asshole." He relaxes back into the shadows and is gone.  
  
The man looks around as he tries to figure out where and how the boy disappeared. He shouts. "Find him! He couldn't have gone far!"  
  
The man's lieutenant asks, "how did he do that? He just vanished."  
  
The hunter says, "he must be a witch. I don't know what magic he used. I didn't see him use a spell. It must be an innate ability."  
  
A short distance away Death and Peter watch Stiles climb out of the ground. He's still cloaked in shadows so the hunters can't see him. His eyes are glowing white, allowing him to see clearly in the near darkness that is his domain."  
  
Now that he's in this realm it's like being in full daylight for him. He can clearly see the tracks of the creature. It's like it left him a blazingly marked road, just for him.  
  
  
  
He takes the hunter's fallen knife and follows the tracks to an abandoned mine in the valley, in disrepair. The entrance is heavily overgrown with bushes and shrubs.  
  
Shade spots a piece of fabric hanging from one of the bushes.  
  
He shifts his form so that it's as porous as a shadow and walks into the mine. Even in the tunnel, it is bright as day for him.  
  
He continues following the tracks. He stops when he hears a strange crackling.  _It sounds like the breaking of a lot of twigs or maybe bones._   _God, he hopes that's not bone. He hopes that ripping noise isn't flesh that it's tearing apart._

 

  
Shade follows the sound as Peter and Death stealthily follow him, unbeknownst to the lad. They don't have to be stealthy, because in this realm, only another agent of death can perceive their presence.  
  
Shade reaches the sound as it tapers off and ends, only to silently gag.  
  
That sound was the creature tearing apart a man and eating him. A little boy is cowering and quietly crying in the corner, tied to a post.  
  
The creature finishes it's meal and turns toward the boy with its teeth bared and a hungry growl.

 

Shade steps between the creature and the boy, still unseen. He deftly drives the knife down into the head of the beast as hard as he can.  
  
Just like D&D, making an attack makes you visible, and it pulls Stiles back into the real world where they boy can see him.  
  
_The young boy looks like he's barely 7-years-old. His eyes light up with hope as the monster falls to the ground with its last death gurgle_.

 

Shade is now half blind like the boy because of how dark it is. He wills the lantern in the far corner to glow brighter so they can see. He wants to ensure they are alone. He can't sense any other living creature in their vicinity.

He rushes to the boy and unties him.  
  
The boy says, "hurry! We have to run before it's mate comes back."  
  
Shade sets it on fire as he mutters. "It  _ **would**_  have a mate."

 

  
  
They rush outside and get in the man's car. As they close the door, they hear a loud grief-ridden howl and then an angry roar inside the mine.  
  
Shade has to keep the boy safe and draw the creature away from the mine where it feels safe. He needs it off-center.

The boy has wide eyes as watches for the creature. "Who are you!"

He says, "you can call me Shade. Shade Gaia. I'm a witch that was sent to stop that feral creature from killing anyone else."   
  
_He drives the boy to the roadside and then slows down so the creature can catch up. The boy should be safe inside the vehicle._  
  
The creature runs in front of the car. 

 

 

Shade hits it with the car because he doesn't have time to veer away.  
  
The impact rumples the front end of the car and stops the station wagon in its tracks as the creature roars in a fury, giving Shade a weird feeling. "Deja vu!"

 

Death and Peter look at each other. "How?"  
  
Death shrugs. "His memories of you are trying to resurface. I suggest you collect my souls and get to your mate soon."  
  
Peter nods. He feels more rushed now.

 

 

Shade tells the boy to stay in the car. He pulls out the knife and then uses shadows to step behind the creature. He can travel instantly from anywhere in the shadows to anyplace in shadows. It's not teleportation; it's more like bending space as they did in the movie  _Dune._  
  
_That is not a Wendigo. Not unless Wendigos mated with Bigfoot and that's their baby!_  
  
The monster turns when it detects Shade's presence and rakes its claws across his arm, shoulder, and face.

Shade guesses from the white eyes that the creature is blind, and the light hurts its eyes. That's why it hunts at night.  
  
He grunts and quickly assess that he's received only superficial wounds. He ignores them, driving the knife into its heart, killing it.

 

Shade catches his breath as the crying boy runs out of the car and into his arms.  
  
_Headlights. Headlights are approaching._

 

  
  
Shade senses that it's a woman and the boy will be safe with her. "That car will help you. I have to go. Tell her that thing killed your dad."

 

  
The boy nods as Stiles steps back, becoming part of the shadows. He focuses on the coven's house and uses the shadows and darkness of night as a tunnel to jumps there in a split second.  
  
The Head Witch cleans his wounds and uses their magic to help heal him. "It and its mate are dead. A woman is driving into town with a little boy that survived its last attack. It ate his dad in front of him."  
  
  
  
  
  
Lacey Ilse stops her vehicle near Alexandria, Minnesota and finds a strange dead creature on the side of the road. She doesn't say anything about the boy that she plans to adopt. She's wanted a child for a long time.  
  
The social worker is a witch in the coven. They want the child to be able to move on and have a good life, so they sign the adoption in record time.

 

To show their appreciation to Shade, they give him a motorcycle and make him the gear he needs for riding for long periods, hiding his face and shielding his body with an impenetrable mesh armor that looks like a riding suit.  
  
He gives them his phone number and tells them to leave a voicemail if they need him or know anyone that does _. It worked for the Winchesters._

 

He drives an hour south to Raymond, Minnesota and stops. He doesn't bother with a hotel because he can sleep in the woods. He can work in the day labor tomorrow for money, that he doesn't really need. 

He calls his dad and explains that he didn't know how to deal with dirty tactics in street fighting and got his ass kicked and came close to getting killed. His dad gives him the address of a Mercenary he trust in Las Vegas. Eliot Spencer. He also asks his dad for an ID under the name Shade Gaia. He'll send that to Eliot's house in Vegas.

 


	6. Familiar

**MARCH 27th, 2011**

**ALEXANDRIA, MINNESOTA**

 

Gerard, Kate, and four other hunters arrive. They meet the other hunters at a rest stop just outside of town.

Mic says, "I'm sure it was the Stiles kid from Beacon Hills. He knew you died of a heart attack after Kate died. He wasn't thrilled to find out our witch brought you back from the dead. We were going to tie him up for you, but he just disappeared. We couldn't find any trace of him after that."

Kate asks, "what about the creature?"

Donovan says, "a woman hit it with her car and killed it. The local vet thought it might have been a wild boar with an unknown disease and burned it to prevent the spread of it before we could get a look at it."

Sanders says, "none of the locals will talk about it. They deny any animal attacks. They say a few hikers disappeared in the forest, but rangers found their remains and their deaths were considered natural causes from falls, and the wild animals in the area ate the remains."

Kate shakes her head. "So there's nothing we can prove or hunt. Everything has been buried or covered up. OOH! That makes me so mad. We can't do anything about Beacon Hills, and now we can't do anything here either!"

Gerard sighs. "I'm going back to the witch to see what she has to say."

Kate thinks. "I'm going with you. I want to see if she has any ideas on how to lure Derek Hale or Scott McCall out of Beacon Hills so we can settle the score with them."

 

 

**Raymond, Minnesota**

Shade goes to a day labor site and gets a job for the day. 

 

He's on the roof of a house learning how to shingle a roof when the four new guys join him on the roof. He looks up and spots them. "Great. Werewolves."

They turn and look at him when they hear him. Their leader walks over to him and offers to help him. 

He looks at the forty-something-year-old blonde werewolf. "Look. I don't have a problem with your kind. My ex-best friend is one. I'm moving on after we get paid today. Leave me alone, and I will leave you alone."

Sawyer asks, "what could you do against us?"

Shade smirks, flicks his hand, and the pile of shingles on the ground below him flies up and lands next to him as he shines his Witch-white eyes at Sawyer. "I'm pretty sure I can take care of myself, wolf. Leave me alone."

Sawyer holds out his hand. "I'm Sawyer. We don't mean you any harm. We just wanted to ensure you aren't a hunter."

Shade takes his hand. "Call me, Shade. I dislike hunters as much as you do."

The five of them talk about their unfortunate run-ins with hunters as they work. They are a little surprised that Shade dealt with the Argents. They have managed to avoid the Argents, Calaveras, Winchesters, and a few others. They are a nomadic group, never staying too long in one place after hunters killed their various families. They were all turned by feral wolves except Sawyer. He was born that way.

 

By the end of the day, the werewolves and Shade are good friends. They exchange phone numbers as they part. They wish Shade good luck on his travels and promise to keep in touch.

Shade collects his $120 and leaves for Vegas.

 

 

**LATE THAT NIGHT**

**Los Angeles**

Gerard and Kate arrive at the witch's house only to find a burned-out shell of a house.

They hear from the neighbor that a few nights ago, when the power was out, the Witch was trying to stay warm with a log fire and started a house fire. She burned to death in her bed. She had moved it in front of the fireplace because of how cold it was.

They investigate the house and can't find any evidence that it was foul play.  _It appears to be an accident and nothing more._

Gerard is furious because that was his free ticket out of death.

 Kate asks, "now what do we do? Do you have any other witch contacts?"

Gerard sighs. "Just  Alan Deaton."

_He calls Deaton to take a look at the scene and see if magick **was** involved in the death of his mistress._

 

 

**MARCH 28th, 2011**

**Los Angeles**

Deaton drives to Los Angeles to meet up with Gerard and get a look at the house.

He looks around at everything. "Hmm. Why didn't she cast a spell to save herself? She could have gotten away from the fire as well. Let me see the pictures from when the cops found her."

Deaton examines them and then pulls out his smartphone. He uses the magnify app and looks at a close up of her. "This looks like someone sat on her and held her down while she burned. Nothing human can do that. Magic wasn't used, but something supernatural, that's immune to fire, sat on her, covering her mouth and pinning her down so she couldn't use magick. Did she have any enemies that could have done this?"

Gerard shakes his head. "Not that I know off."

 

**ON THE ROAD  
**

Shade drives until 11 pm.

He pulls off at a rest stop and then goes back in the woods near it and sets up a comfortable camping spot.

He remembers one of the witches saying that if he had a Familiar with him, it would have helped protect him so that creature wouldn't have gotten so close.

He pulls out his _Magick Textbook_ and the few books he has to read on magick that he got from the Ancient and studies familiars.

It appears that in towns with established covens, the witches breed their familiars from supernatural creatures like goblins and the like. Sometimes lone Witches without any magical training or background can cast a spell to find a wildling willing to serve and protect them in exchange for protection, being cared for, a cover that allows them to pass more freely in the human world as their pets. The advantages of having one, notably similar in gifts to your own is that they can add their power and ability to yours, and they can run errands and fight other supernatural creatures. They can also be your eyes and ears if you want to stalk someone for information. They are also good at intimidation. A witch's reputation is higher if they have a familiar.

He looks through the books and finds a spell that would locate a wildling familiar that is willing to serve you, but not as a slave, more of a partner. A magickal partner.

It works best at midnight. Shade checks his watch and sees it's 11:50. He rushes through reading the spell and finds the perfect place to cast it.

He cast the spell and then waits. He waits until 1 am, but nothing shows, so he returns to his makeshift campsite.

 

 

He gets a soda from a vending machine and uses the bathroom.

He sees something moving through the shadows. He steps closer and thinks he spots a reptilian tail and glowing eyes.

He steps into the shadows so he can see this creature clearer. "Who are you? What are you?"

The creature coils behind a tree and says, "Zerkizok. My name is Zerkizok. Wilkksiezycawyc, I'm a wildling that is offering my services to you as your Witch familiar."

Stiles/ Shade smiles at him as he asks, "then you won't mind if I use an alignment or trust spell to verify that you want to help me and not hurt me?"

It purrs. "I insist that you do, young one. I want you to trust me."

Shade casts the spell and sees that this creature is telling the truth. The odd thing is that it's a combination of darkness, death, and nature. "Death? You have an element of death in you?"

It purrs. "Death is a part of life. Between your powers of life and my death, our darkness and illusions, and our aspect of nature, together, we can achieve great things. You can become the supernatural protector you wish to be."

Stiles smiles. "Very well."

 

It jumps forward and assumes the form of a black cat.

Shade hears it's voice in his head. "You can call me Zerk for short, Shade."

The cat climbs onto Shade, draping itself around his shoulders.

 

_In the shadow of the tree, Death smiles that his gift to Stiles was accepted. Well, gift isn't the right word. He'll take his payment for providing Zerk to him for its services later. Wildlings are sometimes the pets of powerful creatures that no longer have a use for them. Zerk would rather be a familiar than a pet.  
_

 

They get some sleep.

 

 

**MARCH 29th, 2011**

Next morning Shade uses his survival skills that he learned from the ancient to make a fishing line and catch some fish. He gives one to Zerk and cooks his.

Zerk drags his into the shadows, shifts into a shadow beast, and eats the fish with some cracking and slurping.

Shade shivers as he remembers the cracking sound of that beast eating the man.

 

 

When Shade climbs on his bike, it adjusts its weight into the shadows so that it can ride _**with**_ him _**without**_ being seen _**or**_ knocked off.

 

 

**Vegas**

Shade drives to a hotel on the strip and meets Eliot.

Eliot greets him.

Shade says, "my dad said you could teach me street-fighting. I learned hand to hand, but when I got in a fight with hunters, well, I knocked out three, but the last one fought dirty, and he nearly killed me. I need to be able to protect myself."

Eliot leads him into the room. "Your dad's a good man. He saved my skin a couple of times. I'll teach you how to fight."

Shade sits on the bed, and the cat jumps off his shoulders and curls into the pillow. 

Eliot says, "a cat. I'm allergic to cats. Why didn't that set off my sinuses?"

Shade smiles. "This is my familiar, Zerk. He's not a cat. Just cats attract less attention."

Eliot looks shocked. "Familiar? Like a witch's familiar?"

Shade nods.

Zerk draws in shadow and becomes almost invisible in shadow, but you get the impression of bat wings, a snake tail, and glowing eyes before it's a cat again as the shadows disperse.

Shade scratches behind its ears and listens to it purr as he asks, "it's not a problem, is it."

Eliot shakes his head. "He's not a real cat or setting off my allergies, so it's fine. He's your responsibility."

Shade nods.


End file.
